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The purpose of this paper is to consider the interface of research methodology paradigms (which are commonly conventionally perceived as being juxtaposed when conducting research) through the application of textual analytical software.

The argument develops matrices and applies these to the human resource (HR) context of individual and career group sense-making so as to better understand the inherent career dynamics and sense-making in a sample derived from a French media agency context.

The paper’s findings comprise a range of insights from the respondent managers (n = 26). The results suggest that a better understanding of methodologies facilitates the development of theories based on textual data analysis.

The limits of the approach are important. Indeed, it is necessary to make compromises and arrangements with epistemological orthodoxy. Indeed, at first and to be able to process the data with the Alceste© and Tropes©, the interviews were recorded, transcribed and considered as “definitive”. This potentially contradicts the methods of collecting data prescribed by the thematic analysis or the method of cognitive maps. These two interpretive approaches imply a process of co-construction of the results that would not theoretically rely solely on a recording.

It provides insights on how, and to what extent, can data analytical software packages facilitate a better understanding of paradigm (interpretive-positivistic) interoperation and commensurability.

Importantly, the study provides a novel means by which to study the important HR issue of career perception and trajectory.

The methodology-driven approach shows that there is potent scope to map and develop valuable and complementary data perspectives on research issues by interfacing paradigms and textual data analysis tools.

The purpose of this paper is to understand to what extent the analysis of career scripts explains the inertia in implementing mandatory interviews designed to anticipate career lengthening in France.

This exploratory approach is based on 26 interviews of French cadres (a mix of managers and professionals) aged 45 and over in the media agency sector.

Two career scripts – one for the majority who perceive themselves in a dead end, and the other, more optimistic for those who experience job mobility – show several commonalities. Moreover, their combination suggests an entanglement with the previous business model of media agencies.

The survey was conducted on a non-random sample in a radically changing sector. However, the entanglement may explain the inertia with regard to changes in career scripts and agencies’ business model.

As these cadres need to work longer and move from traditional media expertise to cross-functional consulting capacity, mandatory interviews should be integrated into a human resources management strategy that fosters intra-organizational dynamics.

The lengthening of the professional life in France appears as a paradigm shift. The study of career sustainability in contexts becomes a critical research field for management development.

The institutional approach of managers’ careers is well developed, but there is a gap in understanding the entanglement of career scripts and business models. This may help address inertia in change processes.